Accordingly, to claim that some of the orphaned children of the fighters who had been martyred were not provided for by the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—is to lie against him and impugn him.
Eleventh:
No prisoner in Medina ever begged from people. Rather, the Muslims looked after every prisoner they took captive. Thus, the claim that their prisoners needed to beg from people is a lie against the Muslims and an aspersion upon them. Prisoners were numerous [only] (1) on the day of Badr, before Ali married Fātimah—may Allah be pleased with her. After that, prisoners were exceedingly few.
Twelfth:
Even if this story were authentic and constituted a virtue, it would not follow that the person responsible for it was the best of all people, nor that he alone was the imam to the exclusion of others. Jafar fed the poor more than others did, and the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—even said to him:
“You resemble me in appearance and character.” (2), 5 - 29
Abū Hurayrah would say:
“After the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—no one who ever wore sandals was better than Jafar,” meaning in respect of kindness to the poor and other such virtues. Yet he was not, on that account (3), superior to Ali or others, much less entitled to the imamate.
Thirteenth:
It is well known that al-Siddīq’s spending of his wealth was greater and more beloved to Allah and His Messenger. Feeding a hungry person (4) belongs to the general category of unrestricted charity, which anyone can practice until the Day of Resurrection. Indeed, people of every community—Muslims and others alike—feed their hungry, even if they do not thereby seek nearness to Allah, unlike the believers,